Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Staying Positive

I spent 3 months travelling around Turkey and southern Africa, bouncing around in a bus or truck, and having a fantastic time. But there was not a huge amount of walking or hiking, very little swimming, and no time! Too much sketching Seljic architecture and looking at exotic animals and hanging out with my traveling companions.

So when I returned to earth (or my little piece of it) I found that the only big change over the last few months was to my brain. Which is great - I have no problem with that at all! But my body is still achy and crooked and weak. Weaker than when I left on my travels!

Sigh. It's so easy to just crawl into bed with a large bar of chocolate and a good book and plan to stay there for the rest of my life. But I know that is the worst thing I could do!

Move, move, move! Back to pilates class with the lovely Shauna. She assures me that muscles have memory and my strength will come back, and they will come back even better with my new-found knowledge.

Back to yoga class with the lovely Nancy. She suggests modifications without any judgement and praises me when I remember to move my right knee out or activate my lats.

Back to the gym at the lovely Sunset Community Centre. Besides the elliptical machine I can now do the bike. I even tried out the Stairmaaster for 5 minutes on level 1, just to start waking up my glute muscles.

Back to the roads with the lovely Raquets and Runners group, Nadine and the gang, or with Silvia, or with myself. Fast walking for an hour or so, no matter what the weather, chatting about our weeks or whatever comes up.

Back to Stretch for Scoliosis class with the lovely Martha. The elements of dance she adds to her classes always makes me feel free and willowy, and I leave with less pain and I'm sure a couple of inches taller!

Back to dancing with the lovely Ceroc team. It will take awhile but I will get to the point where I can dance all evening again. And who doesn't love dancing with 20+ partners a night?

Back to singing with the lovely Allison. I can feel my voice is already a bit stronger than it used to be.

Back to eating vegetables and fruits and fish and all the things I missed while away.

Back to work with the wonderful Martin, now conscious of how I sit and when I need to take a stretch break. Back to working on projects that interest me and that, if successful, will impact a lot of people in many different and postive ways. I love my work.

Back to creative writing with lovely broadband, providing an outlet for my thoughts and feelings and imagination.

Back to French conversations with the lovely Gillian. We meet once a fortnight to practice our language. Use it or lose it!

Back to weekly coffee visits with the lovely parental units. Regular check-ins assures us all that we are well and happy and passionately curious about the world and everything in and around it.

Back to all the lunches and dinners and teas and conversations with my friends and family.

Being active and engaged has saved me from myself. It all contributes to a general feeling of optimism. I want to strive just a bit harder, work a bit better, listen more, question more. People are supportive and have good suggestions and empathize. Staying positive is a choice, I've realized. But a choice that must be made consciously many times before it becomes more habitual. There's always a positive angle to anything, and finding it will be the making of me I truly believe